A Real Life Bad Breakup Could Change The Course of 'Game of Thrones'

They might fight on the same side in the world of Game of Thrones, but in the real world, Ser Bronn of the Blackwater and Cersei Lannister are sworn enemies. Lena Headey, who plays the evil queen, and Jerome Flynn, who plays the surly sell sword-turned-lord, used to be something of an item. Things between the pair eventually turned sour, so much so that they have stipulations in their contracts that forbids them from being in the same room as one another.

Beyond its status as juicy piece of Game of Thrones gossip, the rift also explains one of the season finale’s most baffling moments. Just as most of the show’s most vital characters were set to congregate in the Dragonpit to discuss the future of Westeros, Bronn grabbed Podrick and suggested they get a drink while “the fancy folk talk.”

It felt incongruous to Bronn’s overall character arc, which has seen him rise from hired help to one of the Lannister army’s most important leaders, and one of Jamie Lannister’s closest confidantes. It seemed strange that he wouldn’t be asked to stick around for the all-important unveiling of the wight.

That the show’s creators would abandon its internal logic for the sake of keeping these two actors apart speaks to how toxic their real life relationship really is. We should note that Headey and Flynn began dating long before Game of Thrones was a thing. “We’re not a couple right now, people have seen us together and jumped to conclusions. I can’t rule out a relationship with her in the future, I just don’t know,” Flynn said of his relationship with Headey in 2003.

The on-again off-again relationship came to a permanent end a decade later, when The Telegraph cited a crewmember who said that they were no longer on speaking terms and were “never in the same room at the same time.”

“It’s a pity because they appeared to have patched things up for a while, but now the word is they should be kept apart at all costs,” the source added. If you recall, last week’s episode also saw Tyrion ask Bronn to betray the Lannisters and join Team Dany. In Flynn’s mind, he’s already there.